This week we have the winner of Sam Harris’s essay contest, Ryan Born! We have a very enlightening discussion of philosophy, specifically moral philosophy. Is Sam Harris right when he says that science can determine moral values? Is wellbeing really the bottom line objective in terms of morality? These are some of the many questions we discuss!

Ryan’s blog is http://pointofcontroversy.com

The Moral Landscape Challenge is here: http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/the-moral-landscape-challenge1 and you can find several more posts about it on Sam Harris’s blog.

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On today’s show we have The Moody Atheist for a first ever Atheistically Speaking book review segment! It’s not just a simple review though, we go in depth into A Manual for Creating Atheists, by Peter Boghossian. Is it a bit insulting to believers? Is it a little too evangelical in nature or is it a great guide for bringing more reason into our society?

Find it on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Manual-Creating-Atheists-Peter-Boghossian/dp/1939578094/ref=la_B00CXT0V0K_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1403072860&sr=1-1

Find Tracey’s blog here: http://themoodyatheist.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:17 — 54.2MB)

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We’re joined by Hemant Mehta! We talk about a range of topics, first focusing on what it means to be friendly as an atheist and how that plays out for Hemant. Then, we talk about the recent Ken Ham related incident where Hemant’s book, The Young Atheist’s Survival Guide, was involved in a bit of controversy. Our final main topic is whether atheists ought to be more facilitating toward republicans within the movement. Big thanks to Hemant for coming on the show!

His blog, as I’m sure everyone already knows, can be found here.

As usual, make sure to check out http://patreon.com/atheist to donate to the show you all love! And if you are short of cash but would still like access to all the brilliant bonus content, check out http://atheisticallyspeaking.com/trial to get access for free!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:51 — 61.3MB)

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We continue the conversation with ex-Jehovah’s Witness Harley, @secularlad. Such a gripping story. I can’t even imagine having to go through the loss of friends and family to the extent that Harley has simply because he no longer buys into absolute nonsense.

Make sure to check out http://atheisticallyspeaking.com/trial for a free month of premium content!

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First we have a follow up with Blake from last week, fresh off his appearance on Dogma Debate.

Then, we begin a very gripping and engaging interview with Harley, an ex-Jehovah’s Witness who has somewhat recently come out atheist. This is no easy task and there have been many challenges and heartbreaks for him along the way. This episode is just a sneak peak, the bulk of the interview will appear on Thursday’s show.

You can find Blake’s episodes of Dogma Debate here: http://dogmadebate.com/ and his Twitter handle is @BlakeGiunta

Harley is on Twitter @secularlad.

If you want to hear the rest of the interview early, sign up on http://www.patreon.com/atheist and it will be up by Monday night.

OR, I now have a special offer of free premium available at http://atheisticallyspeaking.com/trial

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13:03 — 58.6MB)

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I continue my debate with Blake Giunta. Can an immaterial mind even exist? Seems ridiculous to me, but let’s see what Blake has to say about that! Then, I do a bit of a post-mortem on the debate, as well as discuss several listener comments. Thanks for all the feedback and participation!

Blake’s impressive website: http://treesearch.org/

Blake’s twitter: @BlakeGiunta

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:31 — 61.9MB)

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This week I have an apologist on for my second debate! Blake Giunta was a recent guest on Dogma Debate where he attempted to talk philosophy while 3 people completely rejected the very legitimacy of philosophy. I’ve promised him that won’t happen here though!

Blake’s impressive website: http://treesearch.org/

Blake’s twitter: @BlakeGiunta

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:10 — 58.7MB)

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In this episode we finish off the interview with the great Massimo Pigliucci. There’s much more back and forth in this part, which was a lot of fun for me. We discuss Sam Harris and how exactly we make moral decisions.

After that, I have a lot to say on the entire interview. I think Pigliucci goes a little too far in his criticism of Sam Harris and his potential scientism. Find out why!

Here’s a link for the paper on abortion Pigliucci referenced: http://spot.colorado.edu/~heathwoo/Phil160,Fall02/thomson.htm

Pigliucci’s Twitter handle is @mpigliucci

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:08:05 — 62.5MB)

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At long last, the interview with Massimo Pigliucci! First, we discuss a recent article by Massimo regarding Neil DeGrasse Tyson’s dismissal and contempt for philosophy. This article can be found on his new “webzine” here: http://scientiasalon.wordpress.com/2014/05/12/neil-degrasse-tyson-and-the-value-of-philosophy/

Also, his twitter handle is @mpigliucci

After that, we begin the discussion on scientism and the New Atheists. That discussion will be concluded in Thursday’s show along with lots of Tommentary regarding the interview.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 54:11 — 62.1MB)

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We continue the discussion with Thomas Wells. Wells has some concerns about the New Atheism movement. Are they too much like the religious? Are there better ways they should be going about getting their message out? Find out what this well-reasoned and well-spoken philosopher has to say!

His article can be found here:

http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2014/05/07/3999576.htm

And his blog is here:

http://www.philosophersbeard.org/

Find him on Twitter @philos_beard

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 55:20 — 63.5MB)

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